PDL Feature
Friday, August 25, 2012
Ventura County Fusion standout and All-Western Conference selection Gyasi Zardes has been named the No. 1 college player in the nation by TopDrawerSoccer.com, which released its initial list of the top 100 upperclassmen in the nation on Friday morning. Zardes leads a large contingent of players who spent this past summer in North America’s top developmental league.
Zardes, who was also named to the MAC Hermann Trophy watch list last week, had 18 goals in 20 games for CSU Bakersfield last fall, earning NSCAA All-America Third Team honors. He followed that by scoring eight goals for the Southwest Division champion this summer in the PDL. Zardes was named the PDL Player of the Week on June 28 after scoring four goals in two games, and enters his junior season looking to lead the Roadrunners back to the NCAA Tournament.
Matt Wiet joins his Fusion teammate in the Top 25, with the defender having spent the past two summers with Ventura County. Wiet made 13 appearances during two seasons for the Fusion, helping lead the side to the playoffs in both. With UCLA last fall, Wiet started all 24 contests, helping the Bruins reach the College Cup.
A pair of Reading United alums were both selected in the list’s top 10, with Creighton’s Jose Gomez and Georgetown’s Steve Neumann both competing this summer for the Philadelphia Union’s PDL affiliate. Gomez, who sits behind Zardes as the No. 2 player in the nation, and Creighton are aiming to make their fifth consecutive trip to the College Cup, with the senior looking to lead the way.
Neumann will be trying to bring the same type of leadership he exhibited as part of Reading’s playoff side to Georgetown, which is trying to reach the NCAA Tournament for the second time in three seasons. Neumann had three goals and four assists for United this summer, and checks in at No. 9 in TDS’s rankings.
Reading is represented elsewhere in the Top 25, with Paul Wyatt coming in a No. 14 after a summer that saw him make 15 appearances and score three goals for United. Wyatt will be a key figure for a James Madison side that begins the season ranked No. 19 by the NSCAA. Former United players Eric Schoenle of West Virginia and Will Bates of Virginia are also named, at No. 19 and No. 22 respectively.
United is represented outside the Top 25 as well, with All-Eastern Conference selection Greg Cochrane making the list at No. 93 as he returns to Louisville. Ian Christianson is also named at No. 31, with the defender joining his United teammate Neumann at Georgetown,
Former Tacoma Tide midfielder Machael David enters his senior season in the No. 6 slot, with the UC Santa Barbara looking to avoid the injury bug that led to a tough 2011 college season. David was a All-Big West First Team selection in 2010 as a sophomore, helping the Gauchos record a 0.77 goals-against average, leading the team with 1,986 minutes played. David played three seasons for the Tide before he began his college career, competing in the PDL at the age of 16, making six appearances in 2007.
North Carolina’s Mikey Lopez comes in at No. 7 as the former Orange County Blue Star standout will be expected to lead the Tar Heels as they defend their national championship. Lopez had a standout freshman season for UNC, starting 21 games and recording 10 points. Lopez’s Tar Heels teammate Boyd Okwuonu also cracks the Top 25, with the Carolina Dynamo standout coming in at No. 17 after helping his PDL club reach the league’s championship game earlier this month.
Zardes’ All-Western Conference teammate Mark Sherrod checks in at No. 16 as the Portland Timbers U-23s standout is expected to lead Memphis in Conference USA. Sherrod, who was also a finalist for the PDL’s Rookie of the Year award, had nine goals and five assists for Portland this summer, winning PDL Player of the Week honors on May 24.
Sherrod isn’t the only Timbers U-23s player to crack the Top 25, with defender Eric Miller earning the No. 23 spot as the Creighton and U.S. U20 international defender will play a big role for one of the best defensive units in the country.
Completing the PDL’s representation in the Top 25 are No. 10 Scott Caldwell of the Michgan Bucks, who will play a key role for Akron this fall, No. 24 Yannick Smith, who played for the Jersey Express in 2011, and No. 25 Kyle Venter of the Real Colorado Foxes, who is set to play a major role for New Mexico this fall.
2012 PDL All-League selections Sebastian Ibeagha of the Carolina Dynamo, No. 42, and DeAndre Yedlin of the Sounders FC U23, No. 85, are also named in the Top 100, with other players such as the Austin Aztex’s Dillon Powers (Notre Dame), River City Rovers’ Andrew Farrell (Lousiville) and Orlando City U23’s Jonathan Mendoza (Stetson) and McKauly Tulloch (Central Florida) among the other PDL players included in the list.